Elliott and Tuffey Picked for Tour Opener

Auckland: New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has named a 12-man squad to face Pakistan in a three-day warm-up game in Queenstown starting November 18. The squad will be captained by Grant Elliott, who has recovered from his thumb injury, and includes a fit Daryl Tuffey and Test hopefuls Tim McIntosh and Daniel Flynn.

Craig Cumming, who scored a century in the first round of the Plunket Shield this week, has been included as well. Cumming, 34, played the last of his 11 Tests in January 28.

Elliott and Tuffey, who suffered injuries during the ICC Champions Trophy, were ruled out of the ODI and Twenty20 series against Pakistan in the UAE. Mark Greatbatch, a national selector, said the match would provide a good opportunity for them and several other New Zealand players.

McIntosh and Flynn were a part of New Zealand's disappointing Test tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year and did not fare too well in tough conditions and against quality pace and spin.

Pakistan are due to arrive in New Zealand on Sunday and commence a series of three Tests, the first of which will be played in Dunedin from November 24.

Squad: Grant Elliott (capt), Craig Cumming, Tim McIntosh, BJ Watling, Daniel Flynn, James Franklin, Reece Young (wk), Darrell Tuffey, Tarun Nethula, Tim Southee, Ian O'Brien, Brent Arnel.

Scores	Upcoming	Results
South Africa vs Pakistan - 3rd ODI 4th Test - Australia v India - December 26-30, 23:30 GMT 1st Test - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan - December 26-30, 07:30 GMT 3rd ODI - Zimbabwe v Afghanistan at Harare Afghanistan won by 8 wickets (with 139 balls remaining) 3rd T20I - West Indies v Bangladesh at St Vincent Bangladesh won by 80 runs

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